APPLICATION OF THE TDI METHOD IN OBSERVATIONS OF LUNAR OCCULTATIONS

In this paper, we discuss how the Time Delay and Integration (TDI) method can be applied to observations of lunar occultations. The TDI method allows us to track the diffraction pattern of an occulted star by stepping the photon generated charge packages in a CCD array synchronously with the moving diffraction pattern. The use of TDI should considerably improve the signal-to-noise ratio that can be reached in occultation observations compared with that which can be obtained currently using conventional high speed photometers. The TDI method could extend lunar occultation studies to faint stars and telescopes with large apertures without sacrificing angular resolution. We show that observers can achieve 1 mas angular resolution in observations of stars as faint as mV~8 with a 5-m class telescope.